University of Louisville
Miami (Oh)
Softball Defeats Miami (Ohio) 8-1
March 19, 2015 | Softball
Louisville 8 - Miami (OH) 1 (PDF)Â 
OXFORD, Ohio - Freshman Nicole Pufahl went 3 for 3 with an RBI and freshman Shelby McCombs got a complete-game win as the University of Louisville softball team defeated host Miami (Ohio) 8-1 in a midweek game at MU Softball Stadium. Louisville improves to 16-7 while Miami falls to 13-10 on the season.
"Today was an all-around good day," said Louisville head coach Sandy Pearsall. "I thought we hit the ball well and made the adjustments we needed to make. I was also pleased with our solid defensive effort today. I thought Shelby McCombs threw well. She hasn't gone a full seven innings in a while and she was very effective today."
The Cardinals jumped to a 3-0 lead in the second inning when Whitney Arion reached on an error and moved to third on Kayla Soles' double. Both runners scored on a double by Tiarra Sanabria. Nicole Pufahl's single brought Sanabria home.
Louisville added another run in the third. Jones singled and Jordan McNary followed with an infield hit. And error on the play sent Jones to third and she scored on a groundout by Soles to increase the lead to 4-0.
Miami got on the scoreboard in the fourth. Rylee Whispel led off with a hit and moved to second on a wild pitch. An RBI double by Taylor Shuey made the score 4-1.
The Cards quickly got the run back in the top of the fifth. Becker opened the inning with a single and was lifted for pinch runner Morgan Meyer who took second on Arion's base hit. Both runners advanced on a groundout by Soles. Brittany Sims' groundout brought Meyer home to give Louisville a 5-1 lead.
The sixth inning brought another Louisville run. Sanabria earned a leadoff walk, took second on Pufahl's sacrifice but and came around to score when McNary reached on a two-base error to make it a 6-1 game.
Louisville plated two more runs in the seventh. Soles walked and back-to-back doubles by Alison Szydlowski and Ashley Nikolao pushed the lead to 8-1.
McCombs (5-2) got the complete game win striking out four and scattering five hits in 7.0 innings. The Cardinals registered 12 hits in the game with Pufahl's 3 for 3 performance leading the way. Jones was 2 for 4 with a run. Sanabria was 1 for 2 with two RBIs and two runs.
Amber Logemann (9-5) took the loss allowing four runs, one earned, on seven hits and striking out one in 4.0 innings. Tiyona Marshall went 2 for three to lead the RedHawks at the plate.
NOTE: Coach Sandy Pearsall returned the Miami University Softball Stadium for the first time since she coached there (1992- 98). She was inducted into the Miami University Cradle of Coaches Hall of Fame in 2012. The Miami softball program honored her prior to the game and she threw out the first pitch.
"I was very surprised to say the least - and also very touched," said Pearsall of the pregame honor. "I count my years at Miami as a blessing... this will always be a special place to me. I learned a lot during my time here and we had some really great players come through our program. I also had the privilege of working with a lot of quality coaches in softball as well many other sports within the athletic department."
Up Next: The Cardinals (16-7, 6-0 ACC) return to action this weekend when they play host to North Carolina (20-5, 5-0 ACC) in a three-game ACC conference series. The teams will meet in a doubleheader starting at 12 p.m. Saturday and will play a single game Sunday at 12 p.m. at Ulmer Stadium. Admission is free. All three games will be shown on ESPN3.
